Star trek II : La colère de Khan

A classic sci-fi in all its glory and a darling from childhood, which I can watch today without the blushing of an old nostalgic. The story is excellent and connects the silver screen with the series much more than the first film. The connection to series episode Space Seed brought to The Wrath of Khan, in addition to the catchy plot, the famous villain charismatically played by Ricardo Montalban... his young Khan already had incredible energy in the original, but the bitterness of old age and stubborn hatred of Kirk added even more flair. Their duel is personal, it's spectacular... it's galactic. The almost submarine fair fight between the Enterprise and the Reliant in the Mutara Nebula belongs to the golden fund of sci-fi, the effects from ILM are extremely honest and detailed, and they only confirm that the sterility of computers has a hard time matching the vividness and (certain) inexperience of models and natural lighting. James Horner's soundtrack has moved Star Trek from cosmic lightness to action explosiveness, with less pathos and more dynamism. Maybe there could have been more humor, but what can one expect from a film with such a fatal loss at the end? Definitely the best film with the original Enterprise crew, and together with First Contact, the best Star Trek movie ever... A few marginal tidbits: this is apparently the first film where CGI animation was used (the sequence with the presentation of the Genesis project) || Leonard Nimoy originally refused to star in the film. William Shatner half jokingly claims that this was a negotiating strategy. On the other hand, Nimoy says that the possible death of his character caused him to change his mind. Be that as it may, during the filming, he came to the conclusion that completely closing the way for Star Trek would be a shame, so he improvised the scene with passing his mind to McCoy. To this day, Shatner has not forgiven Nimoy for never admitting to him that Spock's comeback was planned during the second film. || Director Nicolas Meyer made his debut with The Wrath of Khan, and Star Trek was completely foreign to him as a phenomenon. He thus incorporated the experience of his favorite child hero Horatio Hornblower into his vision of the film. If the Enterprise is therefore in some ways reminiscent of an English naval ship from the Napoleonic era, then it's no coincidence. || In Czech DVD subtitles, the Enterprise has covers instead of shields and is powered by electricity... I didn't catch any other gems because I switched to English subtitles… (23/03/2007)

I had this fixed in my memory as the best movie with the original crew. Well, nostalgia played a cruel trick on me once again. It’s like a normal episode from the series, but drawn out to an unbearable two hours. Four cheap sets of scenery, workmanship seriously below standard even for the early eighties, no suspense, all action consists of two shootouts (three yellow painted balls versus approx. seven lines/laser beams of the same color and as a bonus two shots from blasters or whatever it was), with the exception of the closing half hour nothing happens, no teasing between characters, nothing... But wait, that’s would be a lie. I think there is something after all. The marvelously tragic villain played by Ricardo Montalban. The combination of his acting anti-talent (I adore the “menacing" eye-rolling) and the words that the script puts in his mouth creates something not actually unforgettable, but at least something extremely dangerous for your diaphragm. (28/04/2009)

The impressions remain similar to the first part. This time, the antagonist is a loudmouthed and overly exaggerated savage, and Spock and McCoy have slightly sharper lines, but otherwise, it's still the same pleasant average. I'm not bored by it, but I don't understand its respected position within the genre at all. (11/01/2009)

The first film was something completely different, and was definitely better, but that doesn't mean this one can't be great. The initial nostalgia is quickly replaced by suspense and action, the story is, shall we say, thinner to more televisual and the villain's acting teeters on the edge, but it all adds up perfectly and the likeable cast manages to sell it. The visual effects are also a bit further along, Nicholas Meyer's ship battle in the nebula is good, and I don't mind the change of composer either, as the up-and-coming James Horner handled the task of following Jerry Goldsmith perfectly and composed one of my favourite Star Trek soundtracks. (01/05/2023)

So I finally saw this legendary movie and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I now understand why it has such a cult status. The ending is great and maybe even more touching than its newer version in the latest "Star Trek". Captain Kirk's character is more tolerable this time and you can see that there was a strong bond between him and Spock. Khan is a fantastic villain. (23/03/2015)